Women's Basketball

Whitworth Falls to Whitman, 84-69

Feb 18, 2014

SPOKANE, Wash. – Four players scored in double figures, but it was not enough to offset the five Whitman players in double figures and the 25th-ranked Whitworth University women's basketball team fell to second-ranked Whitman College, 84-69, in Northwest Conference action on Tuesday evening in Whitworth Fieldhouse.

Whitworth falls to 18-6 on the season, with a 12-3 record in NWC action. Whitman remains undefeated, 24-0 overall and 15-0 in conference play.

Whitman jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the early going, but seniors Kayla Johnson and Kendra Lahue pulled the Pirates even at the 17:04 mark. After the Missionaires took an 8-6 lead, sophomore Lexie Zappone dished the ball to Lahue, who drained a three that put the Pirates up one. On Whitworth's next possession, Zappone hit a three-pointer of her own to give the Bucs a 12-8 advantage. Sophomore KC McConnell gave Whitworth its largest lead of the half, a 17-12 advantage, but Whitman used a 12-2 run to take a 34-24 lead. Lahue cut Whitman's lead to single digits before the break, but the Missionaries led 37-28 at halftime.

Whitman pushed out to a 39-28 lead after the break, but Kayla Johnson scored five unanswered points to cut the lead to six, 39-33. Whitman responded with 12-2 run to extend the lead to 16 points. Johnson scored on a layup and a three-pointer on Whitworth's next two possessions, moving her into seventh on the all-time scoring list, but the Missionaries followed with two baskets of their own. Kendra Lahue cut the lead to single digits with a three-pointer with 2:37 left to play, but Whitman scored on its next two possessions to put the game out of reach.

Whitworth forced 18 Whitman turnovers and converted them into 19 points. The Pirates struggled from the free throw line, making just six of their 12 attempts. Whitman shot 94.7 percent, making all but one of their 19 attempts. Whitman held a 40-21 advantage on the glass and scored 22 second chance points off of 16 offensive rebounds. Whitworth used 12 offensive rebounds to score 14 points.

Kendra Lahue led the Pirates with 16 points, on 4-7 three-point shooting. Kayla Johnson scored 14 points for the Whitworth. KC McConnell and Lexie Zappone added 11 and 10 points, respectively. Johnson led the Pirates in rebounding with five boards. McConnell and Zappone each dished out four assists and junior Kendra Knutsen had a team-high six assists and three steals.

Heather Johns led all scorers with 23 points. Sarah Anderegg and Meghan White added 16 points each, and Tiffani Traver and Hailey McDonald both scored 10 points for the Missionaries. Heather Johns dished out a game-high eight assists. Anderegg and McDonald each had three steals for Whitman.

Next up, Whitworth travels to Portland to take on Lewis & Clark College at 6:00 p.m. on Friday, February 21st.